"Janet stated she 'panicked' and believed police would think Janet killed her based on the condition of the house," the report said. "Janet assumed the police would think Janet neglected her and that is why she died."

So Delatorre told officers she simply left her mother in bed. Sgt. Jesse Sanger, a police spokesman, said the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office still has not officially identified the remains as of Tuesday and the case is still an active death investigation.

The report nonetheless listed Josephine Pallone as a potential victim and police have been investigating the case as if the Medical Examiner's Office eventually will identify the woman as Pallone.

In addition to a positive identification, police hope to learn an approximate date of death and whether there are any signs of foul play, such as broken bones or trauma to the body, he said.

Sanger said police have found no signs of fraud or other criminal activity related to the woman's death. The police report said four Social Security checks were sent to Josephine Pallone's address in June, July, August and September of 2010, and the checks were returned "for unknown reasons."

The Social Security Administration assumed Pallone had died and no more checks were sent, the report said.

Nathan Delatorre of Tempe, Janet Delatorre's son, told police he moved out of the house on Leah Lane four years ago, when he started attending Arizona State University. A short time later, he said his mother called him and told him that Josephine Pallone had died.

"Janet told Nathan that Josephine was going to be buried in Chicago with Josephine's deceased husband," the report said.

Nathan Delatorre said he never returned to the house.

William Delatorre, Janet's ex-husband, obtained a court judgment giving him control over the house after she fell behind on payments, and the property went into foreclosure. A real-estate agent, acting as a court commissioner, went to the house with a locksmith to change the locks.

When they entered the house, they found a pet bird that appeared to have been well cared for. The report said police were concerned about the welfare of Janet Delatorre and searched the house, which had piles of trash and clothes stacked in the living room, the garage and other rooms.

Police found the woman's remains when they checked inside a bedroom. The woman was lying in bed in a supine position and obviously had been dead for a long time.